Norman Clegg At The Crossroads

Norman Clegg and Foggy Dewhurst
played by Peter Sallis and Brian Wilde

In "Last of the Summer Wine," Norman Clegg is hardly a leader. Foggy Dewhurst fits that role instead. He's a former military man, a take-charge person, who is always enlisting his friends Norman Clegg and Compo Simmonite to partake in the adventures he plans. Although Norman would be content to peaceably fritter away his remaining years, he responds to Foggy's enthusiasm, and proves the ideal compatriot and friend.

Norman Clegg and Compo Simmonite
played by actors Peter Sallis and Bill Owen

Compo Simmonite is hardly a man Foggy Dewhurst would respect. By and large, the last thing Compo would readily do is hang out every day with Foggy. Norman Clegg serves as the glue that hold the three together. Norman's reluctant support of Foggy's hare-brained schemes prompts Compo to agree with them, even if he is the one of the three who usually suffers the most from them.

Norman Clegg's fear of Yorkshire women is well-known. He shrinks at raised voices, and is likely to run and hide when Ivy or Norma Batty yell at him. Actors, particularly at the BBC in the 1970s and 1980s, were chosen by directors, rather than casting agents. The directors cast people whom they've worked with before, usually because they played a similar role in another production. So actors often played the same role again and again in movies and TV shows. Or at least until a brave director ventured to try them in a new type of role.

Having never seen "The Pallisers," in which Fiona Cumming had worked with actor Peter Sallis before, I don't know the range beyond Norman Clegg the director saw in Sallis. Her casting choices for "Enlightenment" include some well known comedy names, such as Peter Sallis and Nigel Hawthorne. Also, she wanted Sallis to bring a quirkiness to the role, which suggests that she worried the production would be too serious, and wanted him to bring a touch of humor to the production.

I can only wonder what the "Doctor Who" production missed out on. I can only ponder the air of authority Peter Sallis would have assumed when ordering around First Officer Mariner, or when exchanging veiled pleasantries with the villainous Captain Wrack. I can only imagine how the actor would have transformed before my eyes, from the genial Norman Clegg, into the detached Eternal Captain Striker, and how he would have stood toe-to-toe with Peter Davison as the capable, the incomparable, Doctor Who. 

Would Captain Striker have proved a breakout role for Peter Sallis? Would he have started playing more serious and authority figures as a result? And what about "Enlightenment," which has gone on to be a fan favorite. Would the story have garnered more widespread acclaim, and won prestigious awards, had Sallis' portrayal of Captain Striker proven a success?

If nothing else, fans of "Last of the Summer Wine" can be glad Peter Sallis was never tempted away from his role of Norman Clegg to play more serious, authoritative figures. Certainly Ivy and Norma Batty had to be glad Norman Clegg never gained more confidence. What if Norman Clegg had become the leader of his little troupe of fun-loving guys? Foggy was never a serious threat to either Yorkshire woman. But an empowered Norman Clegg? Wow, that bears some thinking about!

Dragon Dave